4th of July Week in Seattle

Before we left Canby, we went on vacation for Independence Day. We drove up to Seattle and staid for 5 days. The only dog-friendly hotel we could find was in Kirkland, but it was nice, and only a 12 minute drive over Lake Washington t0 downtown Seattle. It was actually a perfect location.

We watched the fireworks on July 4th from the Space Needle. It was pretty cool, a beautiful view! We got to watch the fireworks over Elliot Bay and Lake Union at the same time. We met a really nice girl who had just moved here from Asia who was having trouble with her little boy, and we got to help babysit him for the evening.


We loved walking on the waterfront and eating at the scrumptious seafood restaurants. Our favorite was "The Crab Pot" where we ordered the crab pot which is a pot full of mussels, clams scallops, shrimp, 3 kinds of crab, sausage and potatoes. The waiter dumps the whole pot of food right onto our table. We put on our bibs and feasted til our bellies were full. For me that was about 5 minutes, but Richard managed to feast for a full hour. I'm still always amazed how -that man can eat!


I was in Heaven, as I had dreamt of going to Washington (and Oregon) most of my life. It was every bit as beautiful as I imagined - and more! I think being by the water, and boats and sea life really adds to the experience too. My favorite thing was sailing on the Puget Sound. We went sailing on a 70 foot sailboat for 1 1/2 hours for only $25.00 (sailingseattle.com). It was a blast! I'm sure it was a lot calmer than if we had opened up on the ocean. It was divine. It had been quite a few years since I'd been sailing.

We went to a musem called "The Experience Music Project." It is right by the space needle. Richard and I could have spent days there - it's an interactive Rock and Roll museum! It was awesome for music lovers like us. We didn't even get to see all of it, because it closes pretty early - we were kinda bummed we didn't find out about it sooner. I didn't know the Heart sisters were from Seattle? WHOA! We will definitely be spending time at this music mecca when we grace Seattle again, ha ha "Seattle Grace?" Any Grey's fans out there?

Boo was such a good boy we just had to take him for a walk downtown. He didn't particularly love the waterfront; I think it was the horses carrying the buggies that caused him to freak out and appear to be a wild dog we found in the forest. Other than that, he was great, so we walked him over to Three Dog Bakery and bought him a pupcake, and a dognut which he gobbled right up when we got back to our hotel room. Three Dog is als where he go his famous Mr. Mousey that he takes everywhere we travel. It brings back fond memories of Seattle for him I'm sure.

On July 5th we went on the Spirit of Washington Dinner Train in Renton. Dinner was delicious. That was the coolest looking train I've seen in a while! We saw some of Lake Washington on the way to some vineyard. It stopped at a winery/vineyard...which wasn't that exiting for us since we don't drink, but it had pretty gardens out front.

Richard was really excited to go on an Argosy Locks Cruise. We were on a touring boat where they took us from Elliot bay in the Puget Sound (salt water) to the locks, where they lifted us up into Lake Union (fresh water). We cruised through Lake Union right on by the Sleepless in Seattle boat house. What a beautiful ride!

I loved the Aquarium on the waterfront - petting exotic sealife and feeding the sea otters. They have a gi-normous aquarium that is on both sides and overhead, filled with sharks and all manner of sealife, and the cutest little sea-horses.

Pike Place Market is a famous open market. We watched the fishermen throw big fish at people at the fish market. Just a few stalls down from the famous fish market, we had the best asian shrimp and noodles dish...yum! We frequented Pike Place during our stay - yummy food and cool stuff.

We closed our trip with dinner at Rays Boathouse where we sat outside on the deck above the water and witnessed one of many beautiful sunsets over the Sound! Just scrumptious! Rays Boathouse is a delectable meal and fun atmosphere, not to mention the romance of the sunset and boats on the water!

After church on Sunday we drove around looking at houses for sale in Kirkland (more later on why we made a pact to never move to Washington!). Let's just say that there is a reason it is such a green, lush paradise. Well, in July it really is Heaven.